WordPress Tag – The What, Why and How of My Writing

Thank you to Goran for tagging me in this round of WordPress Tag. As a result I must answer the following questions then send out a few tags of my own.

What are you currently working on?

I have lots of experience in changing my mind when it comes to what I’m currently working on, which explains why nothing is finished. But I have tried to focus on one thing lately and other than all the distractions, that thing is The Mind Keeper. Now, I also exercise the art of changing my mind in the process of writing this piece of work. It started as a loosely related collection of short stories based on logic puzzles and similar brain teasing concepts. I have since realised that the stories themselves are linked by more than just theme. So I’ve been going through the ones I’ve written, strengthening the cross overs to provide a series of not-quite-so loosely themed stories that also have a common element in the form of a single disturbed character. Enough said.

How does your writing differ from other authors in the genre?

The genre in question is probably psychological thriller, going by the technical difference between a thriller and a mystery. I haven’t actually decided which it will be but will probably lean towards the thriller genre. In either case I think there are not so many short story collections that have a single crossover character (or maybe there are), so that might be the most unique feature of my stories.

Why do you write what you do?

Thrillers aren’t the only types of stories I write. I guess I’m still experimenting with what might be my preferred genre. Technically another novel of mine is a mystery. Yet another is more of an emotional relationship based memoir type story. Why? I guess the common theme in what I write is the psychology of the characters. I enjoy puzzling out how people might react in different situations and making it feel real.

How does your writing process work?

I’m not really a pantser. I always have a plan in mind about where the story starts and ends and usually try to stick to the script (which may change) as I go. However I don’t always write from beginning to end. I pick up any random part of the story and write what comes to mind, within the bounds of the plan in my head. Since using Scrivener this has been a lot easier to achieve and keep track of. It certainly beats wading through a Word doc to find where I need to insert a particular scene.

As for the logistics of writing, having a full time job to pay the bills, family and volunteering commitments, I’m very limited with time. Like everyone. I have a one hour train trip each way to work so I reserve the trip in for reading time and the trip home is for writing. I began doing this when I found that writing at night after everyone has gone to bed was not as productive as I would have liked (thank you, Internet!). But I still continue that effort and try to resist the distractions.

The Next Tagees

The rules of WordPress Tag, according to Goran’s post are that we must tag three other bloggers to see what they’re up to. Here are the people I’d like to tag: